


Avengers Meet Victor Creed

by Blue_Hood



Series: Becoming Human [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alliances, Alternate Universe, Awesome Darcy Lewis, BAMF Darcy Lewis, Battle of New York (Marvel), Darcy Lewis Is a Good Bro, Empath Darcy Lewis, F/M, Gen, Mutant Clint Barton, Mutant Darcy Lewis, Mutant Politics, Mutant Powers, Mutant Rights, Mutant Tony Stark, Mutants, Not Canon Compliant, Parent Tony Stark, SHIELD, Scientist Wrangler Darcy Lewis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2020-09-29 18:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20440763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Hood/pseuds/Blue_Hood
Summary: Always trust the government to be vindictive, that might as well be the mutant motto. Victor is forced to spend his first summer with the X-Men on a series of recruitment mission in the American desert. When his list of young mutants leads him to Puente Antigo, New Mexico, things get interesting.





	1. Darcy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has shifting POVs

Despite his conviction that he was not going to risk his freedom while Vincent needed him, he found himself in Puente Antigo, New Mexico with a giant alien robot. How?

With all the recent progress, mutants had more room to operate in the open but the X-Men all agreed that the hatred would not cease just because public opinion was temporarily on their side. Thus, they loaded onto two jets to move mutants.

What the fuck is a giant killer robot doing in small town, New Mexico of all places? That question may never be answered.

Victor was really starting to annoy the killer robot. Annoy the robot? Shaking his head, he got a good whiff of the robot's scent and let his control slip once he was sure his instincts were on the same page as his mind. Blacking out had taken on a new meaning since he moved to the mansion. Had it really been a year, less than? Due to training with Jean's tactile telepathy to calm the animal inside, Victor merely takes a backseat in his mind when he lets go. The robot didn't know what hit it when Sabretooth tore into it.

Victor was aware of a sensation similar to when the Professor touches his minds _ after an emotional- _ there was an empath in this desert town. With a sniff, Victor realized that the townspeople weren't panicking as much as they should be. His attention was pulled back to the robot as he felt a flash of pain that pissed off the animal inside. Burning, he could handle. Hell, Logan survived Nagasaki which proves nukes can't kill them. Beheading could possibly do the job and that flash of pain was followed by his senses dulling. His healing factor prioritized damage so his auditory and olfactory senses returned first. His eyes took longer as his mutation didn't deem them as critical.

However, he noticed with that blast that the 'bot moved its upper body to fire. He just needed to get it to blast something else and the other tall blond made the perfect target, maybe he was from the same place as that thing. Victor moved quickly, jumping on the thing as it fired and digging his fingers into the back of its neck. When the machine moved its head, his fingers were crushed which only added to his anger. His anger and pain gave him an adrenaline boost, the accompanying strength combined with his mutation giving him the power to decapitate the damn thing.

Falling with it, he found himself panting. Five people ran up to him, four decrying the impossibility of his accomplishment. The fifth was a small woman “You're a mutant, aren't you?”

He nodded before collecting his tongue “Victor Creed.” After a moment, he added sullenly “Sabretooth.”

The other woman asked “What is a mutant?”

The small woman waved her off “Don't worry about it.” To Victor, she introduced “I'm Darcy Lewis. That's Sif, Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg and,” she pointed to the fallen blond “That is Thor, or was.” Shrugging, she said “They're from another world called Asgard.”

Catching his breath, Victor sat up “Heartbeat's there.” The Asgardians ran to Thor, giving the large mutant space to ask the small woman “Are you X?”

To cover up her momentary surprise, Darcy quickly said “Yeah, sure, whatever.”

Pulling himself to his feet, Victor asked “Got somewhere to stay?”

“Are you coming onto me?”

“I need time to recover,” said Victor flatly. Leaning forward with a smirk, he whispered in her ear “Away from the Men in Black.”

“Alright,” said Darcy with fake enthusiasm.

Victor draped an arm over her shoulder “Lead the way.” His eyes hadn't fully healed so he kept his gaze downcast and let her lead.

Arriving somewhere on the edge of town, he heard another female voice “What are you doing? Who is that? Why are you bringing him into the lab?”

Victor's arm fell from Darcy's shoulders as she snapped back “So only you can take in tall, muscled strangers?” Before she could get another word out, her boss's words registered and Victor burst out. “Victor!“ She ran after him and tackled him, or tried to. “It's not that kind of lab!“

The other woman seemed to realize the problem, joining Darcy in yelling “I study space!“

Victor made a hard stop, creating a dust cloud. He picked up on Darcy whisper “You didn't tell him your name, maybe without the doctor part.” He ran back, jumping from all fours to his feet near Darcy. The other woman said “My name is Jane Foster.”

Offering his hand, he said “Victor Creed.”

“How did you-?”

“I'm a mutant, X-gene positive.” After a moment, he added “Enhanced senses, accelerated healing and claws.”

Jane tentatively took his hand “How old-?”

“I was born in the 19th century, fought in the American Civil War.”

“Woah,” said Darcy.

“So you're human?” inquired Jane. “I mean you're not an alien.”

“I'm from Canada but otherwise no.”

“Come on inside. I'll show you to a chair,” she winced “at the table.”

Victor put a hand on her shoulder “Eyes haven't healed yet.” Sitting at the table, he checked his pockets and pulled out a communicator. “Where exactly are we?”

“Puente Antiguo, New Mexico.” answered Darcy. “What's that?”

“A communicator.” Victor turned it on and put it to his ear “Puente Antiguo, New Mexico is Area 51. Répéter.” He hung up.

“What was that last thing?” asked Jane.

“Répéter, it's French for repeat. Wiederholen is German for repeat. I'm from Canada, one of my teammates is from Germany. The foreign languages trigger a mechanism or something, the message will repeat so everyone hears it.”

“Area 51?” wondered Jane.

Darcy said “That's a good code for aliens.”

“It's code for what comes from aliens.”

Darcy slapped a hand over Jane's mouth before she could verbalize what that is. “Good idea.”

“Google Sabretooth, Miss Lewis.”

She did, “Oh shit.”

“Yeah, spent half my life running on instinct.”

“How come your eyes haven't healed?”

“My body's prioritizing other injuries. I can manage on four senses.”

As conversation reached a lull, Darcy said “Janey, Erik“ Victor must have visibly tensed because she added “Selvig, there's something I need to tell you. Two things actually, but uh you need to remember that X-“

Victor snarled, held a hand up and called Charles “Puente Antiguo is Area 51, gonna need some cover.” Five minutes later, he gestured for her to continue.

“Uh, okay. X-gene positive doesn't necessarily mean mutant, humans can carry the gene.” She hesitated then let out a huff of air “I'm a mutant, Class Three I think. Before you ask, I'm an empath. Mutants are classified on a scale of one to five with Class One being the lowest, barely more than human mutations. X-Men are Class Three and up. I almost was an X-Man but I didn't like the idea of being defined by my powers.”

“The other thing,” prompted Victor.

“My father is Tony Stark. Obviously my last name isn't Stark, Tony pretty much just signed child support checks and called it good until I tracked him down before I manifested. I, uh, attended a school for-“ her eyes got the faraway look that many mutants associated with telepathic communication but humans saw as zoning out. “Uh, a school for mutants which you've both just been invited to visit.” Walking over to Victor, she stood directly in front of him when she said “The Professor said SHIELD is about to get kicked out. Could you help us move our stuff back, Victor?”

“Sure, Miss Lewis.”

“You can call me Darcy, Janey Jane and if it's not a problem for you then Erik goes by Erik.”

“Okay,” he smirked. “The manners help people get over my mutation and size.”

“Oh.”

Jane asked Darcy “What exactly can you do?”

Victor stood “Empaths are the emotional equivalent of telepaths the same way technopaths are their machine equivalent.”

“I can sense and manipulate emotions.”

“Have you ever-?”

“Only to make you sleepy or on rare occasions hungry.”

“Okay.”

“You calmed the town, minimizing civilian casualties.”

“That too but Erik got Janey to stay back for that.”

“Let's go.” He got on all fours outside, “Climb on, I'm faster than most cars.”

“Not that that doesn't sound awesome but you haven't fully healed and since I know where we're going, we're going my way.” As he got in, his smile said he'd been testing her.

At the sight, Victor acted as an enforcer after stealing a pair of shades off a passing agent. Let Darcy's will be done, try to screw her and you'll pay. When Coulson tried to smooth talk them, Victor snarled and growled over him. Darcy said “You will have your underlings return everything you took from Jane to the exact place you stole them from. No mixing notes, no randomly tossing things. All of her instruments are protected by Stark patent, you will not replicate them in any way, shape or form. The only documents that will be signed will be signed by SHIELD when we report this interruption in our research. Understood, Philip Jacob Coulson?”

Victor couldn't tell if his nerves were real or the work of Darcy's mutant powers as Agent Coulson stuttered out confirmation. Darcy picked up her confiscated phone and sent a text before pocketing it. Victor's eyes healed in time to watch the empath boss around the junior agents before kicking them out. “You text your dad to cover your ass.”

“Pepper Potts actually. She told me if I ever had a problem that science or money can't solve, let her know. I call my dad maybe once a month but Pepper and I are Facebook friends.”

Victor tilted his head with a frown, Jane explained “They're super close.”

With a shrug, he took his glasses off. Darcy said “Fair is fair,” taking her glasses off and contacts out. “My eyes make me a living mood ring.”

Victor jotted down the name of the city on the receipt “Is this the name of the town?”

“Yeah, Puente Antiguo.”

“Then I need to borrow the car because there's a mutant here I'm supposed to pick up.”

“Sure.”

“Program a security system, kid Stark.”

“O-kay.”

As Victor began driving, he noticed the GPS could use coordinates. At the first stop, he punched in the last known location. Parking outside a diner, he sniffed out a strong child scent. Tracking the kid, Victor threw a piece of aluminum debris aside and pulled a boy out. A woman in a waitress uniform ran over “Mason!“

Victor held the boy and gently ran his claws down the boy's back, careful not to tear his jacket. “Mason?”

The woman, Izzy, asked “Who are you?”

“Victor Creed,” the mutant held out his communicator. “Come with me.” He climbed into Darcy's truck, Izzy jumped in after the boy and strange man.

Racing down the road, Izzy held Mason close to her chest. Yanking the wheel, they skidded to a stop and Victor jumped out. Izzy slowly climbed out to find a dark haired man in red glasses beside her, “D-don't,”

Darcy sent her a wave of calm to get her on the jet while Victor took out their tail. “W-what is h-happening?”

Darcy said “The X-Men are here to move mutants to safety.”

"The X-Men?”

“That's Cyclops,” pointing to the man with red glasses.

Victor ran to the plane, “Iceman, give me my case. Darcy, can I keep the truck?”

“Sure but if you break it, you bought it.” answered the empath as a teen passed Victor a briefcase.

The teen boy said “Keep the case, I'll replace it when we get home.” Izzy noticed other kids sitting on a bench by the ramp and let Mason join them.

Victor drove off as the plane took off. Izzy asked “What's going on?”

“The giant robot brought a lot of attention to your town and opportunists decided to take advantage of the chaos to snatch a mutant kid,” answered the Iceman. “With what happened last year, we've been keeping an eye out for the mutant community.”

Darcy cut in “Secretary McCoy is a friend of their founder.”

Cyclops picked up the lead "We've been steadily making progress. The Brotherhood trials happened because Secretary McCoy drummed up press for them. The appeals to exonerate the innocent happened because Victor Creed helped catch over a hundred felons. He worked anonymously with Mutant Affairs so the government didn't have to pay out millions in reward money,”

“And Secretary McCoy got tons of political capital,” added Darcy. “I've been wondering about that.”

Izzy asked “What's up with your eyes?”

“I'm a mutant, Class Three.”

“Four,” corrected Cyclops.

“Four?”

He shrugged “Twice as powerful as a normal empath and most are Class Two so yeah Class Four.”

“Class Four empath.” Darcy shrugged “My eyes change color like a mood ring, I can sense and alter emotions. That's why Cyke only scared you for a minute,” she slowed on the last sentence. Looking around, she realized they'd been using codenames only. Pointing at Cyclops “Scott Summers, you can introduce the others.” Darcy asked Izzy “Why do you care about a mutant kid? Don't try lying, your emotions shift no matter how good you are at lying.”

Izzy sighed before asking Scott “Do you have water? It's easier to show.”

Going to the back, Darcy reminded him “You still need to do introductions.”

Handing Izzy a bottle of water, Scott began “As Darcy said my name is Scott Summers.” He pointed at the blue skinned pilot “That's Kurt Wagner, his codename is Nightcrawler.” Then he pointed to a brown haired teenage boy “Bobby Drake's codename is Iceman.” Taking a seat, Scott said “We're heading to school for mutants in Westchester, New York.”

“My name is Isabelle Jones, Izzy for short.” Pulling a napkin out of her apron, she scrubbed away the makeup on her arm. Opening the water, she took a sip before pouring a little on the light dull green skin. Her skin turned hard, reptilian, the green darkening “I have no idea what this makes me, what the name of my power would be or anything. I just know that as long as my skin isn't wet, it's pretty easy to cover.” Izzy looked at Darcy, “Mason is my son. My brother and sister-in-law raised him until he mutated.”

“Manifested,” Darcy told her “Mutants manifest mutations. Guys like Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner are mutated by experiments.”

Erik asked “Does the wording really matter?”

“Guess not.” Darcy turned back to Izzy “Not a very pro-mutant family then. My dad didn't know how to be a dad, he just signed some child support checks and let my mom take care of parenting. My stepdad was my dad as far as I knew.” She shrugged “I met my bio-dad soon before I manifested. The only thing I don't understand is how I got emotion based powers from a father who doesn't understand people. Speaking of,” Darcy pulled out her phone and made a call “Jay, if dad doesn't pick up tell him I'll call Pepper.” A moment later, she laughed and put the phone on speaker. “I'm fine, I'm actually riding in the Blackbird with three X-Men heading to their base.”

“Why are you with the X-Men?”

“Guess news hasn't got past the Men in Black. Long story short, an X-Man was in the area to pick up a mutant kid and I hitched a ride. By the way, I'm a Class Four empath and I could've been an X-Man. Now it's your turn to explain what the hell happened. You were on the news, you wrecked your house and fought Uncle Rhodey.”

“Rhodey's fine, I'm not sure they've announced it's him,”

“Pepper called, we had a nice talk. Why didn't you call?” When a minute passed without answer, Darcy said “Jay?”

The man on the other end said “I was dying. What do you know about SHIELD? I just upped the encryption on this call.”

“JARVIS, initiate Rainsford Protocol.”

The other man sounded offended “You gave my AI protocols and didn't tell me.”

“I gave all my brothers ways around you, or in Sam's case through you.” The man's tone completely changed when he began cursing “JARVIS mute the curses please.”

After a few minutes of elevator music, the man's voice returned “Okay, why is it called Rainsford?”

“The Most Dangerous Game, Rainsford went from prey to predator.”

“Huh, that's actually pretty clever.”

“JARVIS, burrow down in their system and initiate Fugitive Protocol. First, find out who's financing them and copy the evidence. My money's on Stark money. Research certified white hats while you're at it. Second, collect evidence on patent and human rights violations. If you need more operating power, disconnect from anything that can run without you. Save any and all files before disconnecting if needed.” Darcy's voice turned annoyed “Dad, explanation time.”

“My Arc Reactor ran on Palladium, I fixed it and invented a new element in the deal but yeah, I was dying from heavy metal poisoning.”

“When JARVIS is done, I want you to research its effects with Pepper so you can see what was and wasn't your fault. Anything else I should know about, dad?”

“I got my powers back. Electrokinesis, I sorta lost them soon after I manifested but I guess my latest near death experience brought them back.”

“Uh-huh, what else?”

“What?!“

“You asked about SHIELD, what happened?”

“Um,” Tony actually had to collect his thoughts, which was weird. “Uhm. Remember when I made my whole I am Iron Man announcement. SHIELD wanted me to lie, say it was a bodyguard in the suit and I was on a yacht hosting a party. I'm not stupid, I know that was so they could steal the suit. The guy they sent back then, Coulson, he was my babysitter when they put me on house arrest after my birthday bash.”

“Coulson was out here too, he Area 51'd the place where some alien thing crashed and stole Jane's research.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“Dad, I already told you I'm fine. Keep going.”

“Coulson's boss, Director Fury told me Howard helped found SHIELD.”

“Founder is a really nice way of saying piggy bank, unless I missed my guess about their funding.”

“You didn't. Dang!”

“Keep going. Who else?”

“Natalie Rushman, Pepper's PA was an Agent named Romanoff. She injected me with something, didn't even see her walk up.”

“Add that to human rights violations, non-consensual drug use like that might just constitute experimentation since there's no one else living with an Arc Reactor in their chest.”

“Right. Happy said she really knew how to fight.”

“Did she say anything to you like YOLO?”

“More life to the fullest because I was dying.”

“So she pushed you to self-destruct?” Darcy asked “Did SHIELD gaslight you?”

“Gaslight?”

“Dad, I know you. Did they play your real ego?”

“Yeah, I guess they did.”

“Sir?” another voice cut in “I have discovered something most concerning.”

Darcy said “You're on speaker dad. Wanna talk to Jane Foster before you go hunting more terrorists? She's more like us than Happy.”

Tony said “Yeah, sure. JARVIS, whatever you found, file it away and keep going. Generalize crime, Al Capone got nailed for tax evasion. What is Fugitive Protocol?”

Darcy answered “Fugitives have to hide from facial recognition, Fugitive Protocol is JARVIS hiding from digital detection by monitoring camera feeds. I'll put Jane on in a minute.” She muted the phone and told the eager physicist “If it sounds like he's flirting, ignore it, that's just how he talks. If he wasn't on speaker and I'm sure JARVIS let him know he was, he'd probably talk to me that way. He once told me that flirting helps him slow down to a normal person's speed. Alright?”

“Yes, Darcy.”

The intern unmuted the phone “Dad, make a note to call Professor Xavier about the mutant refuges and try to pay attention to what Jane says. Her engineering skills are deplorable but don't insult her babies, not her fault her genius is focused on space. Here she is,” Darcy handed the phone over and proceeded to help Bobby move the little kids to actual seats before taking the navigator's chair. The woman had a calming effect on everyone around her, which Izzy figured was part of her powers.

Darcy sat down next to Kurt “Catch me up. You and Bobby are students?”

“Ja.”

Hearing his accent, Darcy switched to German “I thought Wagner sounded German, are you fluent?”

“Ja,” hearing someone speak in his native language brought a smile to his face. They continued their conversation in German.

“So what are two students doing on a mission?”

“We are X-Men in training,” Kurt began.

“Ah, that explains it. This is just a recruitment run then?”

“Ja but one of my teammates is transporting mutants to the refuge. Victor and Herr Summers fixed another jet.”

“Okay. What's up at school? Victor didn't work at school when I was a student.” They gossiped for a bit before Darcy turned to Dr. Selvig, “Are you okay?”

“This isn't exactly a normal plane.”

“I know.” Darcy asked “Do you want me to use my powers to calm your nerves?”

“No, thank you.”

“What country are you from?”

“Norway, why?”

Darcy switched to Norwegian “We're at normal cruising speed in a supersonic jet.” She shrugged before glancing at Jane still on the phone, “I'm going to give you a rundown of the ground rules. Could you share them with Jane when she gets off the phone?”

“Sure.”

“You're both doctors, don't mention it unless you're already talking about your field. Be careful when asking about mutations, humans rarely visit unless they're related to a student and even then, some students don't tell their families that they're mutants. Under no circumstances can you ask a mutant to study their powers. It's all pretty much logic, Professor Xavier is cool. You can ask him pretty much anything, he might give you a cryptic answer but he'll give you an answer.”

Darcy turned to Kurt “Let me know when you're about to take us down, pay attention to the radio chatter and fuel gauges.”

Izzy asked Darcy “What language was that?”

“German.” She explained “I'm fluent in multiple languages. Way dad and I see it, normal people are like fireflies, normal geniuses are like dogs and we're like beehives. Our minds can go off in a million directions without losing our train of thought. Normal people have flashes of genius and take care of themselves. Normal geniuses are smart and focused.” Darcy smiled “If that sounds offensive, remember my dad doesn't understand people.”

“O-kay.”

Erik began to ask her a question when Jane interrupted to return her phone “Your dad wants to talk to you.”

Darcy took the phone, telling Erik “Grunnregler (ground rules).” To her dad, she said “What's up?” He responded. “About time. Anything else?” They started talking over each other, starting to say something before moving on. “Alright, thanks dad. See you then.” She hung up.

Erik asked “How many brothers do you have?”

Darcy sighed “That's a story.”

Kurt spoke up “Wir beginnen unseren Abstieg.” (We are beginning our descent).

Darcy said “Everyone strap in.” To Kurt “Warum?” (Why?)

(Refuel and pick up) “Tanken und abholen,” answered Kurt.

Darcy nodded and Scott asked “Translation?”

“We're landing to refuel and pick up more recruits.” Darcy said “You need to learn German since you have a German X-Man in training.”

“Right.”

As they landed, Darcy answered Erik “Way back when I was still in diapers, my mom married Paul Lewis and changed my last name. I've been Darcy Lewis for as long as I can remember. A couple years later, my mom gave birth to my little brother Sam Lewis. He's always been obsessed with dinosaurs, I think he's studying to be an archeologist.” Turning her seat around, she continued “Less than three months before I manifested, I found out Tony Stark is my father and showed up on his doorstep.” She smiled at the memory “Dad doesn't know how to handle people. He was very awkward. After JARVIS called me Miss Lewis, dad said he's my brother and I got him to call me Darcy.” She shook her head as she came back to the present, “I followed dad down to his workshop and met the bots: Butterfingers, DUM-E and U. If JARVIS is my brother then so are the bots because they're like his brothers. The bots are technically dad's oldest but they don't mature very fast so we call them our little brothers.” With a shrug, Darcy concluded, “Sam is my only half-brother in the traditional sense but dad and I count his AIs as my brothers.”

Bobby and Scott finished refueling as Darcy finished her story, the X-Men worked like a NASCAR pit crew. The empath moved to the back of the jet to settle the kids, Scott took her spot and put on the copilot's headset. He guided them to the rest of the rendezvous points before landing at the school. Kurt got to work doing maintenance as the rest of the X-Men gave the new mutants a tour of the school.

Darcy introduced “Jane Foster, Erik Selvig meet Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men. Professor Xavier meet Doctors Foster and Selvig.”

Charles chuckled, “Your father is waiting upstairs.”

Darcy ran out of the room while Jane and Erik stayed behind to speak with Charles. They arrived just in time to catch Darcy ask “Why are we hiring thieves?”

“I need them to steal some of the stuff SHIELD uses in their experiments so I can develop counters.”

“Okay. You do whatever you need to do in New York but make sure you have time to contact Mutant Affairs before we head down to the Bayou.”

“Dress for the humidity.”

"Yeah." As Tony walked away, Darcy put his phone to her ear “J?” She smirked “Yeah. How are the bots?” She noticed them and held up a finger. “Good.” When she finished her call, she returned the phone to her father who’d come searching “I was just checking in with the bots.”

“Alright, Little Bug.”

Jane asked “How old are you, Darcy?”

“22,” said Darcy as Tony said “20.”

Darcy looked at her father “You tried to send me to Italy for my 21st, ring any bells?”

“Right. What’d we do instead?”

“Rented out an amusement park.” Darcy told her father “Now, you got your phone and JARVIS has organized your schedule so all of your appointments are midday.” She shooed him “Go, you know you can’t stay anywhere without attracting attention.”

After Tony left, Darcy told her boss “When I was in high school, we toured music hall of fames and spent Christmas in Japan. The latter was more of an apology for the fit he threw when I told him I was going to Culver to major in Poli-Sci instead of following his footsteps to MIT for Engineering. He was in Japan for some meetings and paid for me to meet him there for the holidays. He made a huge deal about wasting my potential, even brought up the MENSA which I have never taken.” She shrugged “I have an eccentric billionaire for a father, what can I say?”

“O-kay.” Jane asked “Does your dad really not know how old you are?”

“He’s not good with people. He’s fucking brilliant with machines, give him an idea for tech and he’ll go on week-long binges to invent it. People confuse him, think of him like a robot. Wait, don’t, you and I have very different ideas about robots.” Darcy shook her head, “He’s my dad, I’m one of the few people on the planet who can keep up with him.”

“He doesn’t know how old you are?”

“Jane, do you know how old you are?” When the other woman had to stop to think about it, Darcy said “My point exactly, it’s just part of being a genius. If not for the aborted trip to Italy, I might not know.”

“He rented out an amusement park?”

“He’s a billionaire, renting is keeping it low-key.”

Jane sighed “I’m guessing your life was never normal after you met him.”

“No one in this building is normal by society’s standards.” Darcy said “I get what you’re saying and you’re sort of right. Even after I got here, I could still sleep through a class and ace it, only now I could also sense the teacher’s annoyance. To blend in, I got in the habit of calling my dad the night before a long lecture and talking science until I had to leave for said lecture. I couldn’t get the university to let me take everything independent study because that’d be like private tutoring so I did what I did here, I slept through class and used my mutation to make sure I didn’t get in too much trouble for it.”

“How? Your dad, he’s an engineer,”

“Howard and dad didn’t agree about much but one of the things they did agree on was the whole well-rounded student thing is stupid. I mean, dad and I get it, sorta, when you’re talking about a middle-schooler and I wish elementary school had been more balanced. Don’t ask, I’ll explain later. But in college, you should focus on the subject that’s important to your major. Engineers don’t need to know foreign languages or poetry or whatnot. Anyway, I started sleeping through class when I was little and finding out who my father was explained why mom was never bothered by those calls home.”

“What I was going to say is as an engineer, he’s somewhat focused subject-wise.”

“Oh yeah, that. When my mutation changed my eyes, it also fixed them. I have perfect, almost superhuman vision. Soo, instead of color contacts and these,” she held out her glasses, “I wore sunglasses all the time. My glasses do something that makes people pay less attention to my eyes and by extension me, it’s a psychology thing.” Darcy realized she’d begun rambling, she caught herself faster than her father “Anyway, because of my impaired vision then mood ring eyes and Stark speed mind, I have a tendency to read the whole textbook during the first week of class. Sometimes I’d also flip through the Teachers’ Edition. So, yeah.”

“So your mind,” Jane trailed off.

“I could’ve taken every technical class Culver had to offer and tested out of them but I actually like blending in. I spent half my childhood pretending to be normal, being driven nuts because everyone around me was normal and normal people are so slow. Then I found out Tony Stark is my father and it all makes sense. I’m not sure what I did during that first visit but afterwards, dad sent me a prototype Stark Phone and mom had to forward it to the school. I think dad paid her like triple what she spent on shipping on top of the child support he never stopped paying until mom started sending it back and I called Pepper to have dad’s bank stop authorizing the transfer. Still took like six months to get him to understand child support stops when the child turns 18.”

“Woah.”

Darcy shrugged “Like I said, I can keep up with him and he’s not good with people.” She smiled “His power lets him create and control electricity, which is fitting I guess.”

“O-kay.”

“You realize he’s gonna fund your research until you’re Thor’s age now that he’s talked to you and views you as a fellow genius?”

“What?”

“Dad is gonna fund your research forever because he knows you’re like us intellectually,” Darcy dragged out every word, exaggerating the pronunciation so Jane could read her lips if she were deaf.

“Not quite your level apparently.”

“Did Charles tell you what they did when I was a student?” When Jane only glanced at the old telepath, Darcy explained “They enrolled me in online classes, which is how I became fluent in German, Spanish, French, Russian, Japanese, which was useful at Christmas, and a whole slew of others. Obviously I’m also fluent in English and the Norwegien dialect of German, as Erik can tell you.”

“How many languages?”

“I don’t know, maybe all of them. I usually took classes on three each semester. That’s not counting the summer classes I took to keep from being bored or the other classes I took online.”

Erik said, “Scott told us how you could’ve had a college degree by the end of your first year.”

“Could’ve? I did, my dad insisted on paying for my online classes and he is the definition of go big or go home. I have a few degrees, mostly from my Freshmen and Sophomore years. My Junior and Senior years, I slowed down for the sake of my transcripts. I didn’t want to look like an overachiever.”

Erik said, “You avoided science classes so you wouldn’t be compared to Tony, didn’t you?”

“Yup.” Darcy tilted her head “You’re pretty sharp. I can’t believe we got away from SHIELD without any poaching.”

“Poaching?” asked Jane.

“I can’t believe SHIELD didn’t try to steal Erik away for their own research,” rephrased Darcy. Neither Foster or Selvig missed the changes in their intern. Darcy Lewis was home.


	2. Avengers

Victor Creed happened to be in Manhattan when the Chitauri invasion happened, he called Charles while herding people into the subways “Is the team taking part in this or not? Either way, I’m here.”

The telepath said “That depends on how long the battle lasts, I will send the others if the battle is still ongoing once they are prepared to fly out.”

“Alright. I’ll be here.” Hanging up, he told the scared people “Take whatever subways are still running and get out of here. I’ll be back.” He continued to herd people underground, acting as a human shield in some cases. When Captain America ordered local cops to get everyone off the streets, Victor almost snorted before catching the captain’s scent. Instead of brushing him off, Victor moved in close and joined the fight long enough to say “Captain Rogers, good to see you again.” Taking down the nearest aliens to buy the captain time to overcome his shock, Victor went back to evacuating. Covering Hawkeye while he cleared a bus, he acknowledged the man with a nod, “Agent Barton.”

He overheard the Avengers on comms discussing him, "Who is this guy?"

"He keeps weaving in and out of the fight."

"Stark, what’s this guy’s deal?"

Stark answered “That, my friends, is Victor Creed.”

“That’s Creed?” said Romanoff. “I thought he was feral.”

“He didn’t seem wild, to me.” Cap said “Aside from his fighting style.”

_ I used to be wild, _ Victor thought as he continued moving people underground. Stopping at Romanoff’s side, he said “Wait,” before launching himself at the aliens she was shooting. Once the area was clear, he sidled up to her again to ask “Are there subways running to pick up pedestrians?” then ran off and Romanoff reported the interaction, leading Stark to discover the answer was negative.

Much debris, Victor noted, was coming from the Hulk smashing. Upon realizing this, he made sure to follow the giant, to shield civilians from the falling building parts. Seeing the nuke out of the corner of his eye, Sabretooth jumped down on all fours and raced after Iron Man, running up the side of a still stable building to begin jumps between buildings, covering more ground. As Stark fell, Creed jumped on him and began tearing the front of the suit off while keeping him angled to land on his back. Stark woke mid-fall and engaged thrusters as Victor jumped off him. “What happened?”

“You met Victor Creed,” answered Barton.

“Could’ve been worse, I guess. Portal could’ve closed on me, who decided to close the portal while I was still on the other side?” Victor let the squabbling wash over him as he ran away from the area. Weaving in and out of blindspots, he made his way to the school.

Tony called Charles to arrange a meeting with the X-Men and Victor. Leaving the twins and Agatha behind to watch over the students, they brought Kitty with them to the Tower at the appointed time. “Welcome, sorry about the mess but crazy alien space-wizard,” Tony shrugged before noticing “Kitty Pryde, nice to see you again.” They met when he visited the school and Tony helped her with her coding. As they exchanged pleasantries, Victor moved over to some rubble and began moving it. “I’d really rather you-” Tony cut himself off when he realized Victor was doing the same thing that the work crews were going to do anyway. “Whatever,” he led the X-Men further inside while Victor kept working on clearing rubble.

Logan fell back to join him, moving with less confidence than Victor who clearly knew what he was doing. Their mutations made the work go by faster, clearing a significant part of the Tower in a matter of hours. “Wow, you guys do good work. How much do I owe you?”

Victor grinned “I assume you’ve already been talked into supporting mutant rights?”

“True but I was already doing that, remember?” Victor nodded. “If you guys want to keep going, don’t let me stop you. You can crash here if you need.”

Victor put a hand on Logan’s shoulder to stop his brother “We’re good. Make sure you wipe this meeting from SHIELD’s servers when you look into the infiltration.”

"Right.” The large man nodded before the mutants left.

* * *

Following the Battle of New York, many students were almost desperate to help. Victor agreed to lead the young volunteers on the condition they all complete a crash course after dinner. He was shocked by how many showed up, having underestimated the level of interest. Jean and Logan were also present, which was a relief. He addressed the students “There is only one way I’m taking all of you into a warzone, and that is if you follow all of my rules. Obviously, you are not to use your powers where humans can see. I doubt anyone will care about the difference between aliens and mutants. There’s always three jobs in these situations- first aid, food and rescue. There’s three of us,” he gestured to himself, Jean and Logan “So we should be able to divide you into the three groups. No matter what your job is,” he pulled out one of the school’s shirts from the drawer behind him “You will have to wear these. I’m sure there will be additional gear provided for all of you but this,” he shook the shirt “Tells the organizers who you’re with. Keep the logo visible.”

With a nod, Jean took over “If you’re doing first aid, follow me to the infirmary.” About a third did.

Logan said “Rescue is the primary job. First aid is secondary. The third job is passing out food to the other volunteers.” The brothers explained the proper procedures and enacted a buddy system to minimize mistakes. As Jean brought her group back, Victor had everyone who was still interested sign up and take a shirt.

After they got through the checkpoint to what was the busy streets of Manhattan, Jean took her group to the Red Cross station while Victor led the rest to receive assignments from the relief organizers. Trouble came when he was recognized moving heavy rubble by a couple of National Guardsmen. He told the kids under his watch to keep working before asking “Problem, soldier?”

“You got a lot of balls coming here, Sabretooth.”

Steve Rogers, who was apparently also taking part in the relief effort, came over “What was that?”

Few tended to recognize Captain America out of costume, the two idiots taunting the man with a monstrous reputation for having said reputation kept spewing their bigoted hate by way of answer. Victor looked Steve in the eye “Show ‘em your ID.”

To say the soldiers were acting childish would be an insult to children, in Victor’s opinion. The one who called Victor ballsy for showing up to help didn’t stop being an asshole until his friend put a hand over his mouth and pointed at Rogers’ ID. They were both quick to apologize, though the smart one hadn’t done anything wrong in Creed’s opinion. Pulling rank, which he didn’t actually earn, the good Captain’s dismissal sent them running. With the annoying pests gone, Victor turned back to his work. Steve said “You were a big help-”

He was cut off by the feline mutant towering over him, a sizable piece of concrete in his hands. Smirking, he said “Don’t mention it, seriously don’t.” Returning to work again, he was relieved when the other soldier simply joined him.


	3. Old Soldiers

James Barnes spent over a year receiving treatment for the brainwashing HYDRA used to make him the Winter Soldier. Following the Battle of New York, Charles asked if he’d like to meet Steve. He agreed as long as they weren’t alone, anxious about how much he changed and how that would affect his relationship with the man who knew him best before. Arranging the meeting as one between the X-Men and Avengers on neutral territory, everyone dressed casually. Victor and Logan flanked James, both ready to step between him and Steve. The second America's hero saw him, a barely audible "Bucky?" escaped his lips, turning the Avengers’ attention to the trio.

Sensing his next move, Logan said “Far enough, bub.”

The former Winter Soldier said “I go by James now and yeah, I would rather you not-” He made a strangled sound and Logan put a hand on his arm.

“What the actual hell?” asked Tony, earning glares from both teams. “Bad choice of words?”

Scott addressed Widow “Ever hear of the Winter Soldier?”

Natasha looked between him and Barnes “He-”

“Was a HYDRA weapon.” With a superior smirk, Scott told them “SHIELD is a HYDRA stronghold, always has been. They sent the Soldier after Victor.”

“I’m guessing he won that match and you took him in,” Tony mused “Brainwashed?”

“Yeah.”

Stark looked at Rogers “I can see why they insisted on neutral, semi-public territory. HYDRA can’t hit us here without exposing themselves.”

“Can’t hit us here period,” argued Agent Barton “Wolverine and Sabretooth would hear them approach.”

“What could two guys on the ground do against a sniper?” asked Tony.

“Two, unkillable guys with enhanced strength and senses would be pretty hard to bypass in any case,” stated Romanoff.

“You have a point but I’m just saying-” Tony cut himself off as he realized what he was saying, “Nevermind.”

Scott cleared his throat “If that’s settled, we actually agreed to this meeting for James but we need to talk about something so the spies can report to SHIELD without tipping off HYDRA.”

“Right.” Clint asked “Any chance we can get your real names?”

“Not for the report.” Cyclops tilted his head towards Romanoff, a subtle yet significant gesture.

“Worth a shot.” Clint asked “Ideas?”

“Well, we’re building an alliance, right? We need to build the foundation, set the terms.”

James came out of his shell a little by the end, though only Victor and Logan could make out what he was saying. He asked for another meeting with them and Steve, which made the American icon preen.

They met for drinks at a bar Logan had found in a part of New York known as Mutant Town. Steve brought Clint to keep Natasha at bay, which was sound strategy to the old soldiers. The archer and two mutants retreated to a table in the back while the super soldiers stayed at the bar. “How’d you find this place?”

Victor looked at Logan, prompting him to answer “It’s good and cheap, Vic and I can’t get drunk due to our mutations.”

“Plus they don’t mind our less than human attributes,” added Victor.

“Like claws?”

“Like growling,” Victor agreed “and claws but Logan hasn’t popped his recently.”

“Logan?”

“My preferred alias,” said mutant replied with a shrug.

“Don’t call me Sabretooth, I prefer Victor.”

“That’s your real name, right?”

“Yup. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“How did you end up with that lot?” Victor said “Widow, I understand. Black Widows are goddamn hard to kill, Logan and I have had a few sent after us. Stark, he’s the money, just gotta gaslight him, tear him down a lot and make him want to be worthy of you. That’s the plan, right? Careful with that, Barnes killed his parents and his dad didn’t do much more than leverage funds to protect his son. Thor, I don’t get that one. The guy would be dead if I hadn’t showed in New Mexico, he only got his status back because his brother tried to kill himself. Rogers, American icon and completely clueless about this century. You, what the fuck lets you play on that level?”

As he spoke, the brothers drank while Barton set his down and gaped wide-eyed at the older man. Logan chuckled “That’s why he goes to meetings even though he ain’t really an X-Man.”

Clint glanced at him before plastering on a chill expression “I recruited Widow.”

“Widows are trained to manipulate, seduce and kill, don't expect much. Their loyalty lies with whoever they think’ll come out on top, shifts like crazy. Really hope that’s not the highlight of your resume, you didn’t kill a woman who will turn on you for the slightest advantage.”

Logan added, “One Widow managed to knock me out, doubt this one’s that good.”

“They got the same ego, though.” The brothers agreed on that.

“Okay, I got nothing.”

Victor gave him an opening “Wasn’t aware snipers used arrows?”

“Most don’t.”

“You do.”

“Yeah. I’m sure you’ve never heard of the Circus of Crime.”

“Bunch of bastards with tech that replicated powers led by a wannabe psychic.”

“Yeah, I was Trickshot.”

Victor nodded to himself, “You’re the ex-con.”

“What?”

“Been trying to figure out what you all had in common. If not for SHIELD, you’d all be locked up. ‘Cept Thor, he’d never have come back if SHIELD hadn’t messed with the Tesseract and freed his brother from torture.”

“Torture?”

Setting his bottle down, Victor said “Loki was believed dead, right? Fell off a magic bridge into the void of space?” Clint nodded along. “How does someone survive something like that? Stark survived one of his missiles being shot at him because he was-”

“Taken by the shooters?”

“Taken captive. Why?”

“They wanted him to build weapons.”

“Terrorists aren’t that stupid. How were they gonna get an American weapons developer to make weapons that’d be used against Americans?”

Clint put the pieces together and swore fluently. Logan took their empty bottles to the bar, “Put it all on my tab,” he pointed to the super soldiers and his table. “I’ll cash out tomorrow.”

Steve said “I got the drinks tonight.”

“Good for you, my tab’s been going for a while.”

Steve told the bartender “I’ll pay his tab.” When the man eyed him, he showed his black card and ID. The barkeep nodded “Night’s end, I’ll pay it all,” he put his wallet back.

As Logan came back with six more bottles, Clint had just about finished his first, “Isn’t that overkill?”

“What’s overkill is Rogers offering to pay my tab and practically flashing his black card?” At hearing that, Victor got a considering look on his face. “Oh, no. Whatever you’re thinking, no.”

“You and I know what he really needs to know better than any historian. We can get him through the basics without,” he nodded at Barnes, “Risk of interference.”

Clint nodded “Mind if I tag along on these history lessons?”

“You’ll have to make sure your boss doesn’t tag you.”

Trading his beer for a fresh one, Clint said “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? Make sure my boss doesn’t think to crash the party.”

“I was just thinking I’d go to the Tower, anyway. Logan couldn’t get passed security.”

Logan agreed “That’d be your safest bet.”

Dropping his voice below human range, he said, “You don’t mind distracting Vincent for a few hours.”

His brother shook his head and Clint was very lost, “He asked me something, you don’t need to know what.”

“That must suck.” At their matching inquisitive looks, he elaborated “Super senses. You must be able to hear sirens all over New York from here.”

They nodded, chorusing “You get used to it.”

“I know.” As the looks returned, he chuckled “There's a reason I'm wearing shades.”


	4. New Age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-HYDRA Uprising

When shit hit the fan, Tony was ready. Natasha Romanoff went down with the rest of SHIELD after trying to dump the database onto the internet. The discovery of HYDRA gave him a reason to pull funding but the Avengers Initiative forced him to be subtle about pulling out. As the dust settled, Tony spent a solid week smothering Darcy before taking Clint to see the X-Men about replacing Romanoff. Victor met them at the door, leading them to an office where a silver haired boy and brunette girl were waiting. "Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver," he introduced the duo. "You need to replace Romanoff, the twins are a packaged deal."

Tony gave them a reassuring smile, "I'm also a mutant." He held his hands apart and they all watched electricity dance between them "Electrokinesis. Clint's a Class One, maybe Class Two, with enhanced eyesight. Mind telling us your human names?"

The boy, Quicksilver, said "I'm Pietro and this is my sister Wanda. We weren't afraid you'd be anti-mutant." He shared a look with his sister "Our father is Magneto."

"Clint was almost a villain himself back when he was Trickshot."

"Oh,"

Tony continued "I made weapons that could wipe out cities and didn't pay attention to where they were going. Rogers has practically locked himself in the good old days of World War II without learning about the Holocaust. Thor was banished to Earth for a week after attempting genocide. General Ross has been hunting Bruce for years, wanting to weaponize the Hulk. The reason I'm telling you all this is so you know that your dirty little secret isn't really a dealbreaker. In fact if having Magneto for a genetic donor is the worst thing about you, you'll be the best Avenger."

"We worked for him."

"Building weapons of mass destruction and warmongering was my family business. Again, Thor was banished for week for attempted genocide, what does that tell you about his people? Now, I'd like to invite you to the Tower to meet the rest of the team, maybe lay the groundwork for your Avengers membership. I want to make an announcement about our new members as soon as possible so Pepper needs to meet you for that. If you're not interested, you can say no and we'll try to figure something out."

Wanda said "We are interested."

"Great." He smiled a bit nervously, "I'm guessing from the name Quicksilver that you're fast, but we're going to have to drive back so I can clear you with security."

Clint asked Victor "Do you mind if I stick around here for a bit?"

"No but I'm not going to babysit you," he seemed to think of something "Actually, there's someone I think you should meet. You, not Stark."

Shaking hands with the inventor, he led the archer to the library where a young man was reading to a gaggle of little kids. One of the kids saw Victor and ran over, the behemoth picking him up with a nod to the teen reading. Taking the little blond outside, he said "Clint, this is my son Vincent. Vince, meet Hawkeye."

The boy gasped before excitedly babbling to the Avenger Clint smiled and nodded along, answering what questions he could when the kid stopped to breathe. Eventually he slapped his dad's shoulder to be put down and dragged the other man away. Scott said "I'm surprised you let him do that."

"Barton's a mutant, his eyes." Victor asked Scott "Am I missing something?" At the younger mutant's look, he elaborated "Did I miss a training session?"

"Oh, no. Are the twins taking the job?"

"I don't know. I think Stark wants to replace Romanoff with mutants so he can go pro-mutant without going public as a mutant. Imagine the capital mutant Avengers will give the cause."

"Yeah."

* * *

Happy Hogan intercepted them as they entered the Tower, "I thought the X-Men were going to give you someone to replace Romanoff."

"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover." Tony introduced "Happy Hogan is my head of security. Happy, meet Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. You can join the others for a meet-and-greet if you want, all will be explained then. For now, I want them to have honorary Avengers clearance along with Cap's friend Sam Wilson."

Everyone was waiting in the Avengers common room. Steve introduced himself "Hi, I'm Steve."

"I'm Wanda, this is my brother Pietro and we are not children, Mr. Rogers, I assure you."

"It's Captain."

"Our father was 12 when his family was taken to Auschwitz, he grew up in the Holocaust. Do you even know what the Holocaust is? The name Captain America means nothing to him, you are not a hero to our family. You never earned the title Captain, it was given to you just like your shield."

"I'm sorry about your father."

"You didn't answer my question. Do you know what the Holocaust is?"

"I'm sorry, no."

"Millions were killed by the Nazis. My grandparents only crime was practicing the wrong religion. Maybe you should study history, try to learn from the mistakes of the past rather than waste your second chance at life." She turned away from him, smiling at the man behind him "And you are?"

"Sam Wilson."

Pietro and Wanda were overall friendly, if guarded. Following introductions, Darcy asked "Who is your father?"

Wanda answered "Erik Lehnsherr."

"Magneto," said the empath. "That's gotta suck."

Pietro said, "We weren't sure we'd be allowed to join the team because of it."

"Well, bad blood is pretty common here. I mean, I kinda lucked out with having Tony for a dad but most of the actual team wasn't so lucky."

"I don't think our father knew until it was too late, we have our mother's last name because our father was unknown."

"Huh, well, at least you know. I have my stepfather's last name because having the Stark name is dangerous and I only know Tony because I tracked him down just before I manifested."

"You're a mutant?" asked Banner.

"Yeah. According to Cyclops, I'm a Class Four empath but I've always thought of myself as Class Three." To Sam, she explained "Mutant powers are ranked on a scale of one to five with one being small stuff like a blue tongue and five being bend reality to your will. Having the X-gene means you might be a mutant, you can also be a carrier. Men usually pass the gene on and Tony's no exception."

The billionaire demonstrated his power as they all turned to him "Electrokinesis, didn't work for most of my life. I had to reconfigure my suits to let the power safely run through me, the old arc reactor was a bitch to fix so I wouldn't overload or drain the damn thing keeping my heart in one piece."

Darcy said "Anyway, I really lucked out but bad dads are pretty common around here."

Tony clapped his hands "Now that's taken care of, there's a few things we need to go over. First, Pep, how much trouble are we gonna have pitching a team with these two on it to the UN?"

"The UN? What are you talking about?" asked Steve.

"We need a proper sanction to keep avenging, a UN charter will give us that authority on a global scale."

Pepper said, "We're definitely gonna need to do some press, maybe work with local authorities until we can get off the ground but depending on their powers, they shouldn't be any harder to get approved than Clint or Thor."

Pietro said "My sister is called the Scarlet Witch, I am Quicksilver."

Pepper suggested "So you're both very well equipped for missing persons cases? Magic and speed."

"Yes."

"Great. I'll get started on contracts. Tony, be careful."

"Will do, Pep." She left and Tony said "We're gonna need to get you some super suits but for that, I need a clear read on your powers and that means tests."

"Okay," said Pietro, sounding distrustful.

Darcy assured "You'll have control over the design, he just needs to measure your powers so he can pick the right fabric."

If Tony didn't know any better, he'd think she was using her powers to put them at ease. Sam had the brilliant idea to swap stories, really get to know each other. When the twins went down for the tests, they felt much more comfortable with the team.

* * *

A week later, staff and students crowded around the TVs to watch the latest Avengers press conference. Tony Stark started by confirming that Black Widow was in custody and would remain there until trial, dropping hints about Stark Industries security measures ensuring she could not escape. Then he went on to talk about the team's founding before saying "Maybe we were a time bomb but I like to think any bomb can be defused. Please welcome the first, and hopefully not the last, new Avengers. Sergeant James Barnes," everyone eagerly turned to the side of the stage to see the legendary hero. "Codename Winter Soldier, you can find all the details on James' journey from his deathly fall during the war to this stage today on the new Avengers' website when it launches tonight." Barnes moved back to stand with the rest of the team "Next up we have Sam Wilson," following the same path as James, he stood next to Tony through his introduction "Call sign Falcon, Sam was a decorated Air Force Pararescuemen. Since his discharge, he has spent his time leading group therapy at his local VA." He took his place next to the others as Tony continued "Our next inductee will not be a full time Avenger, he's kinda married to his other job. I give you my best friend, Air Force Colonel James Rhodes, War Machine. The former Iron Patriot and former liaison with Stark Industries will be acting as the Avengers liaison with the US government while we work towards an official charter with the United Nations. I hope he decides to stay on after that, even if he's just a part-timer." As he stepped back, Tony said "Wanda Maximoff, please make your way to the stage, Wanda Maximoff to center stage." She took her place beside him, "Codename Scarlet Witch, Wanda is a Class Four mutant." She took a step back, not quite joining the team as Tony said "Last and certainly not least, Pietro Maximoff." The man raced around the room, slowing down to spin his sister around before coming to a stop beside Tony "Codename Quicksilver, Pietro is Wanda's twin brother and they're both joining us as the first mutant Avengers. We hope to end an era of animosity between humanity and mutantkind. Each Avenger has agreed to answer up to three questions. Choose carefully." Together the trio stepped back, letting Steve go first.

"Darcy's probably calming Banner and Barnes' nerves," said Victor, his son seated in his lap, as they watched the heroes take turns at the podium. His colleagues quietly agreed, Stark had consulted them before making the announcement to find the best way to work in the twins' mutant status.


End file.
